Rain
by xXxBlackwaterQueenxXx
Summary: "It's Dahra. Someone put a brick through her front window." The HC are out for blood. Edilio knows time is running out. But does Raylin Cooper have the answers? With the FAYZ on the verge of war, can they help eachother before it's too late? Edilio x OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Soooo I'm back with another fic :L I think I'm becoming an addict. Anyway, I've been wanting to write a Gone fic for ages, but only got the motivation last night. This is kinda random, but I've got it mostly planned out :] I couldn't believe how few fanfics on Edilio there are, so I decided to write one ^^.**

**This is Edilio x OC (Raylin) and her character will be more expanded and her background more filled in as the story continues. The title's also quite random, but I had no other ideas :L**

**Hope you Enjoy!**

**Em xx**

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It was raining again. Not as bad as the night before. But bad. It meant the night was going to be cold; but then again, she was used to cold nights now. Besides, it might help cover her tracks. Raylin reached for the zip of her black hoodie, pulling it up all the way. The hoodie itself was oversized and bore the faces of some random band she'd never even heard of, but it was thick, and it kept her warm. She tugged at her hair underneath the hood to make it cover her ears before wrapping her arms around herself, curling up in a ball.

It was almost enough to make her wish she had a roof over her head and a warm bed to sleep in. Almost. But Raylin wasn't stupid. She didn't wish for those things. She would never willingly let herself have them. Because getting a roof over her head, and sleeping on an actual mattress, would mean going to one of two places in the whole of the 'FAYZ'.

That's what the kids in Perdido Beach called it. This little world they were trapped in. At first they'd loved the FAYZ. They'd loved having no parents, loved being able to do what they wanted and stay up 'til whenever they liked. And then, when things started going wrong, the kids in town had all begun freaking out and now that Temple guy was getting torn up from the stress of trying to help everyone. Raylin snorted. She'd known from the beginning that they were all wrong. The FAYZ hadn't brought them freedom – it had caged them in, trapped them like fish in a bowl, waiting. Waiting for their next meal – which, she'd gathered from the state of things – was going to be a long while in coming. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting to die.

Still, as bad as it was becoming, Perdido Beach was Heaven compared to Coates. Raylin shuddered, and it had nothing to do with the cold. She'd almost been sent there. Almost four months ago now, when she'd moved here to live with her fifth consecutive pair of foster parents, Kevin and Danielle had considered sending her to Coates Academy. In their eyes, it was a brilliant idea. Raylin didn't see it their way. She'd done her research on the area: Coates was a school for messed up kids. Sure, she had issues. She _was _messed up, in some ways. But she'd be damned before she let them get rid of her and dump her in a school with kids who were capable of things she didn't want to think about.

Because that was what always happened to her. Everyone she loved left her. Even the ones that said they wouldn't. They all did, in the end. She was Raylin Cooper, the one that was always left behind. Snorting again, Raylin turned over onto her other side.

She'd been living it rough since the FAYZ began. She'd left her house in town and taken the tent and some other gear from some little shack in the desert. Raylin smirked as she remembered how she'd simply grabbed the keys to Kevin's Volvo, shoved a bunch of stuff in the car and taken off. She wasn't even fifteen yet – still another two weeks to wait for that – but it wasn't the first time she'd driven a car. She'd known how for a long time.

Raylin Cooper knew a lot of things. A lot them she'd learnt from...well, she wouldn't really call it spying. Sneaking around, more like. She never stayed in once place for too long, and had kept an eye on what everyone else was doing while she was moving around. Raylin knew all about Sam Temple, about the 'moofs' and the Human Crew. She knew about Caine and that manipulative girl Diana. She knew about Computer Jack. She even knew how to survive the big 1-5. Raylin had seen and heard some disturbing things, had watched Drake Merwin become the monster he was. Hell, she slept alone every night in the pitch black in the middle of goddamned nowhere and survived on fish and deer she caught herself. With a freakin' _spear_. There wasn't much that could scare her anymore. Not the dark. Not the freaky creatures. Not the war that was unfolding just a few miles away. Not even Drake Merwin.

Sighing, Raylin closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. One day at a time, she reminded herself. One day at a time.

XXXXXXXXXX

Somewhere outside, a bottle smashed against concrete. The sharp but quiet-ish noise would have been enough to awake Edilio, if he'd managed to get to sleep in the first place. It was getting ridiculous really. How much of a light sleeper he was becoming, when he slept at all. Rubbing his eyes, he turned over in bed and glanced at his alarm clock. The face was illuminated by a tiny light, small, but just enough for him to see. 3 in morning. Only one group of people would dare to be out this late...well, early.

The drunken voices now drifting through his open window from the street outside confirmed his thoughts. Zil Perry's slurred speech was the first comprehensible thing he heard. "Freakin'...freakin' moofs!" he half-shouted, voice raising. "Might as w-well call this whole damned st-street Moof-freakin'-Row!" Raucous laughter filled the night air, and another bottle smashed.

Anger began to bubble deep inside him, but Edilio held it back. He covered his face with his hands, taking a deep, calming breath. It came out as a sigh. He couldn't let anger at the Human Crew get the better of him. Sam was better, after the whole thing with the Darkness and Caine and Drake a few days ago. Better, but still had a way to go to being his old self. Edilio was second in command now. He had to make sure that, in case Sam really got to the point where he needed a break, he would be level-headed and ready to step up. Not that he relished the thought of being in Sam's position.

Unconsciously, his hand drifted to his left shoulder, palm flat against the skin. He had to work to repress a shudder. Just a week ago, he'd almost died. Lana had saved him, but barely. He knew he should just be grateful and forget about it. Normally, he'd have no problem doing that. But it was _Lana _who shot him in the first place. Regardless of whether she was being controlled or not, that hurt. She was his friend. Lately Edilio had even started to wonder if...well. If may she could be more than that. But apparently Quinn had beat him to it.

As the voices began to fade and eventually disappear at the HC left the street, Edilio wondered if Lana would ever come back. After they'd buried Brittney and the other kids she'd taken off in Caine's car from the mine shaft. Caine and Diana themselves had gone back to Coates, while Computer Jack had claimed a little house just across the road from where Edilio now lived. Two doors down from Jack Dekka, Brianna and Taylor had moved into one small building. After the attack on the power plant and the HC started up again, a lot of the 'Moofs' just wanted some quiet. Edilio didn't have any powers, but some peace had sounded good. Subconsciously they'd all come together in the same road. Safety in numbers, after all.

Edilio closed his eyes, sighing again. Things were bad. Really bad. But something would happen soon that would fix everything. He had to believe that. It was his birthday in a couple of days. Edilio could easily step out. No one would know what choice he'd made until it was already too late. But...a part of him told him he couldn't. He was needed. There were still things he needed to do, needed to fix.

He only wished that he knew what they were were.

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**Please R&R :] Chapter Two coming soon! xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**You have no idea how tired I am :L It's 25 past midnight and I think I'm going to fall asleep on my laptop :L But, I managed to get this out :] This chapter centres around Edilio and just how bad things are getting in Perdido Beach. Chapter Three will probably go back to switching between Raylin and Edilio.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns Gone...lucky...**

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The morning dawned surprisingly warm, with the feel of lots of sun later that day, despite the terrible night. The kids of Perdido Beach were all either passed out or sleeping. Mostly. Taylor was currently standing in Edilio's dark bedroom, trying to wake him up. "Edilio!" she shouted, shaking him gently. "Get up!" Edilio's eyes flickered open and studied her confusedly. Sleepily he used his elbows to help himself sit up.

"Taylor?" he mumbled, dazed. "What time is it?"

"Almost half five. I'm sorry to wake you, but I was on duty and...well, Quinn said it would be easier on Sam if you could handle this one."

Sighing, Edilio rubbed his face with his hands. There wasn't really much he could say to that. Quinn was right. Besides, Edilio _was _the town sheriff now. "It's okay," he found himself saying. "Right. What have we got?" Taylor sat down on the end of his bed, massaging her forehead with the tips of her fingers and sighing. Then, looking up:

"It's Dahra. Somebody put a brick through her front window. Quinn was walking home from his fishing shift and found her outside her house, trying to clean up. We think it was the Human Crew."

"And what makes you say that?" asked Edilio as he got out of bed and looked around in the dark for his jeans. He already knew that she was probably right, but it was his job to ask.

"Because somebody wrote 'HC' on the brick in permanent marker," Taylor answered. "And...here." She hold out his jeans to him, finger hooked through one of the belt loops. Edilio took them and mumbled a thanks. He pulled them on over his boxers as quickly as he could, wishing the power was still on. At least then he'd be able to find a shirt. It wasn't cold, but he wanted something to cover his shoulder. Something to cover the scar. When he looked up Taylor was holding out a short-sleeved white t-shirt. He took it wordlessly and pulled it on, offering her a small smile as a thank you instead.

"Can you pop back and tell them I'll be there in five? I'll take the truck." Wide awake now, Edilio pulled on his worn trainers and grabbed his keys from the bedside table. The two of them stood. For a second, all he could do was compare the height difference. He'd grown in the last few months. A lot. When the FAYZ started he'd only been a little taller than Taylor. Now he was at least a head and shoulders bigger. She seemed to notice it too, because she smirked as she looked him up and down.

"Growth spurt much?" she said, and he chuckled quietly. "Sure thing, Edilio. I'll see you there." And then Taylor was gone.

He made sure he locked his door when he left, fumbling with the keys for a moment in the darkness. Edilio didn't have to be a genius to work out what was happening. The Human Crew meant business. They already openly displayed a loathing for the 'moofs' – now they were targeting people who associated themselves with the people who had powers. First Dahra. Who next? Quinn? Astrid? It was only a matter of time before Edilio himself became a target, being Sam's second in command. And he didn't want to come home to a burgled or damaged house because of that.

The low growl of the truck's engine felt amplified in the silence of the dawn. It seemed to echo through the streets in an eerie way that Edilio didn't particularly want to think too much about. Just get this over and done with, he thought. Just get this sorted, and then maybe you'll be able to catch an extra half hour's sleep during training. The drive to Dahra's didn't take long. He was glad about that; driving around in the dark wasn't exactly the least creepy thing to do.

When Edilio pulled into the empty driveway of Dahra's house, Taylor, Quinn and Dahra herself were already standing outside waiting for him. Before he got out of the car he looked around. It seemed safe enough. His hand rested on the smooth handle of his revolver, the gun he kept for issues that didn't involve Caine Soren or Drake Merwin. Edilio wasn't a violent guy. Despite being in charge of the 'army' and weapons training, _and _being a one-man police squad, if there was a way to resolve a problem without resorting to brute force then that was the option that Edilio would prefer to take. He sighed deeply, wishing he was home in bed. Then he opened the truck door and climbed out, leaving the gun on the seat. He was just being paranoid. "Okay guys, what happened?"

Dahra stood nearest the damaged window, arms folded across her chest, still dressed in what Edilio presumed she'd worn to bed: a dark vest top with matching jogging bottoms. He felt pretty confident, though, in assuming that she hadn't worn those heavy leather hiking boots to sleep in. She sighed, something he hadn't seen her do in a long while. Quinn raised a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. Dahra smiled weakly at him before she answered. "I couldn't sleep," she began quietly. "I kept almost drifting off and then waking up. Anyway, I finally managed to get to sleep around...3? And I actually stayed asleep until this humongous smashing noise woke me up. So I go downstairs with a goddamned baseball bat, and what do I find? Half my living room's covered in glass, it's four thirty in the freaking morning and some dipshit from the HC's thrown a _brick _through my window!"

She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair and letting it out. "I'm sorry," Dahra apologised, returning to normal volume. "I'm just tired, and I'm hungry, and I'm scared, okay?" Quinn wrapped his arm around her shoulders this time and she leaned into him, looking just as tired as Edilio felt. Treading carefully across the carpet of glass shards in front of the window, Edilio surveyed the damaged. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if the brick had only made a small break in the glass – okay, so that was a lie. It still would have been bad. But at least then they would have been able to tape it up or something. Instead the window was practically just a window frame.

"Either they threw the brick pretty hard, or whoever used to own this house didn't feel like investing in double glazing," he said. "There's no way we can fix this." He turned back to the others, brow furrowing slightly in thought. "Dahra, there are some empty houses on my street? Jack's just moved in across the road from me, and Dekka, Brianna and Taylor are sharing a house. But if you don't want to be alone, we could sort you someone to room with for a while." Dahra seemed to consider it for a few moments.

"I think I'll room with someone," she said eventually. Edilio nodded understandingly.

"Okay. We can sort that for you."

"Thanks, Edilio."

"Don't worry about it. Right, Quinn, can you stay with Dahra and help her get her things together? The sooner this is all sorted the better."

"Will do, brah."

"Taylor, I need you to go find Computer Jack when it's light. I don't want to disturb too many people too early. I need to speak to him. And not a word to Sam about any of this, okay? That goes for all of you. He's stressing himself sick as it is, so there's no point worrying him about something before we know the whole story." The other three nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna go home, get my head together, and try and figure out a way to fix all this."

They exchanged subdued goodbyes, and as Edilio drove back home in silence, he couldn't help but feel relieved that Dahra hadn't decided to come live on his street. It sounded horrible, even to his own ears, but he had some good reasons. The Human Crew were trying to drive them out. Containing the so-called freaks and freak-lovers alike in one area was just the first step in their plan to take over Perdido Beach. But he wasn't going to let that happen. _Couldn't _let that happen. The FAYZ was Hell on Earth.

But he'd be damned if he let Sam Temple go it alone.

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**Reviews are really appreciated :] They make my day! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally finished Chapter Three :] Things might seem a little slow-going but within a couple of chapters things will have speeded up!**

**Hope you enjoy :]**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gone :( ... Michael Grant does, lucky...**

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Raylin checked her watch. 7:30 am. Time to get moving. She sat up tiredly and reached for her bag, rummaging through the contents. After a few seconds she found what she was looking for. Raylin pulled out a little glass jar from one of the pockets. It was filled with various berries and fruit-like things she'd found whilst wandering around. She wasn't completely sure if some of them were okay to eat, so this morning she stuck to the ones she knew were alright. Raylin tipped a couple of the fruit-like things onto her hand. They were a deep purple and strawberry-sized, and definitely some kind of mutation.

But they were nice and hadn't made her ill, so she ate them without complaint. It wasn't like she had many other dietary options, anyway. Since the FAYZ began she'd been living on said fruit-like things, fish from when she set up camp by the coast – and was lucky enough to find some trapped in rock pools – and some of the creatures from within the FAYZ. Within the first couple of week's she'd used a rock to fashion a sharpened end onto a small tree branch, which acted like a spear. Occasionally she'd go for the eldest deer she could spot. They didn't taste as nice when she'd cleaned it and cooked it, but if she didn't let the younger ones grow then they'd die out altogether.

Other times she'd come across a mutation, like a rat with wings or a bird with a long, coiling tail. They looked pretty messed up, sure, but they were edible and she needed the protein. Besides, it was a lot better than what some of the people down in Perdido Beach were getting. Before their food started to run out she would sneak into town for the odd can of something or other, to supplement her diet. But now that all the food was at Ralph's and heavily guarded, there was no way for her to do that. As for drinking, she'd been surviving on boiled rainwater she'd collected in plastic tubs when it rained or stormed. Not exactly the healthiest option, but there was nothing else for it.

Raylin sighed quietly and put the jar back in her bag, climbing out of the tiny tent. She checked the water tubs; she hadn't got much at all from last night's brief shower. Great. Just great. It looked like another trip to town was in order. Getting in and out unnoticed was going to be tough, but she was confident she could manage it. Blending in was something Raylin had always been good at, since even before the FAYZ. Another natural talent was guessing what others were thinking. It pleased her no end to freak out various foster parents, when she was landed with a horrible pair. It was all about body language and common sense, really. She didn't understand the difficulty other people had with it.

Maybe some people would leave their doors unlocked – she could sneak in and look around for some bottled water, then sneak out. Nobody would know a thing. Raylin began to pack her things up in silence. The collected water went into an empty bottle – she'd boil it later, she decided. It was going to take her all day to reach town as it was. The tent was so small that, folded up, it fit neatly into her large backpack. The poles also folded up and she settled them in vertically. Once everything else had been squeezed in it wasn't easy to get the zip done up, but she managed it. Despite the earliness the sun blared down on her with more ferocity than usual, out in the open.

She had, in fact, camped closer to the cabbage fields that usual. If she maintained a steady pace and skipped lunch – which she'd been doing every day for the last fortnight anyway – then she should reach Perdido Beach by nightfall. Picking up her makeshift spear/walking stick, Raylin took a deep breath. Then she started walking. Towards the academy where there was talk of another battle. Towards the town that grew weaker every day. Raylin liked to think she was very intuitive. And something big was coming. She could feel it.

XXXXXXXXXX

In his mind Edilio had drawn up a list of all the problems he had to deal with. He'd skipped breakfast, deciding to save his leftover cabbage and fish rations for dinner that night. It was now 8 o'clock, and, with his mind more awake and rational, he'd decided to deal with the more easily-solved problems first. Number 1: Find someone for Dahra to live with. Anyone associated with the Human Crew was out of the question, obviously. And rooming with a 'moof' really wouldn't do her any good. Edilio would've offered her the spare room in his own home, but he was sure that Dahra would have just been in more danger, living with him.

Who was someone without powers, who was well-liked? Who had enough of a reputation, and enough respect, to not be in any danger? And then it clicked. Albert. His running of the McClub and his invention of a currency had meant that he commanded a certain amount of authority over most of the Normals in Perdido Beach. Some weren't loyal to Sam, or Zil, or even Edilio, but they were loyal to Albert. And Edilio knew for a fact that Albert, at least, followed Sam.

Running a hand through his hair, Edilio got up from the kitchen table. He'd have to talk to Albert today. And Dahra. And Computer Jack. And Sam. A few minutes later he was heading in the direction of the McClub, one of the places Albert could usually be found. Not for the first time Edilio wished that the phones were still working. Even when his cell had still had battery, there wasn't a signal. That meant a ten minute walk further into town to find Albert, and then another ten to walk to Dahra's – if Albert agreed. And then he had to traipse all the way home to speak to Computer Jack, and from there another fifteen minutes to Sam and Astrid's. Fabulous.

But he knew, deep down, that it was his own doing. He was acutely aware of how much petrol people were using up, and was trying to make his last. He only drove long distances, for emergencies or during the night. It was times like this when stepping out seemed like a good idea. But then, he reminded himself, Edilio Escobar was no quitter. He spent the walk to the McClub trying to wrap his head around the mess that the FAYZ had become. Several new 'HC' tags had sprung up overnight, and as he walked by a particularly large one he saw a couple of nine-year-olds scuttle past it in fear.

Vividly he remembered Astrid's description of how Zil and his followers had almost executed Hunter when no one was there to stop them. At the entrance to a _church _for crying out loud! "What goes around, comes around," Edilio muttered darkly under his breath. Judge and ye shall be judged, wasn't that the way it went? He already knew the verdict he was going to give when Zil Sperry and the rest of the Human Crew came to trial.

The rest of the town wasn't as busy as usual, he noticed. That at least made him smile. It meant that people were actually working, which in turn meant that Albert's new currency system was a success. And Edilio, tired and mentally worn out as he was, had to take that as a sign that they were winning the fight for survival. Albeit slowly, but they were getting there. When he reached the McClub a sign on the door told any potential customers that it was closed. But when Edilio peered through the window he could see Albert sitting behind the counter, reading what looked like a thick textbook. He tapped lightly on the glass to get his attention. Albert looked up and smiled at him, beckoning him to come in. "Hey, Edilio. Everything okay?"

"Hey, Albert..." Edilio made sure that the heavy door was firmly closed behind them; he didn't want to risk the wrong person hearing anything. Maybe he was just turning into a paranoid loon – but he'd rather be an _alive _paranoid loon than a dead one. When he turned around Albert was watching him in confusion as he flipped the text book shut. Edilio walked up to the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. What exactly was he supposed to say? "Business Management, Forsyth Diploma Edition..." Edilio read the title of the textbook out loud. "Can't say you're not already Perdido Beach's businessman, dude." Albert smiled, but it barely reached his eyes.

"Just brushing up," he said and chuckled somewhat half-heartedly. There was a moment of awkward silence. "What is it, Edilio?" Albert finally asked, smile disappearing. "Something's wrong, I can tell from the way you're acting."

Edilio sighed, running a hand through his hair again, stalling._ Come on man, just ask. You're gonna have to do a lot worse things than this in the future_. "Taylor showed up at five thirty this morning," he began wearily. "Woke me up. Dahra's window got smashed in. Someone from the Human Crew put a brick through it. She's really shaken up." Albert grew wide-eyed while Edilio paused, concern taking over his features. "And," Edilio continued, "I'm sorry to have to ask you this, Albert, but Dahra doesn't have anywhere to go. There's no way we can fix her window and she can't just stay there with it broken. Living with a mutant is just gonna make things worse for her – I'd let her live with me but that would just make her even more of a target." Edilio swept his gaze over their surroundings, over the business Albert had quickly managed to build.

"But you, man, you're a Normal, and people respect you. Dahra knows you, and she knows she can trust you. There aren't many Normals you can say that about anymore."

"You don't have to explain, Edilio," Albert said. "I have a spare room she can use." He shoved a hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out a keyring. The numerous keys clinked and jingled as he selected a small silver key and twisted it off the ring, handing it to Edilio. "That's the front door key," he explained as he placed it in Edilio's open hand. "I probably won't get home 'til late tonight, but if Dahra could leave it on the kitchen table or something I don't mind locking up."

"Thanks, Albert," Edilio said as he pocketed the key, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You're a godsend."

"No need to thank me." Albert smiled again as he tried to relocate the correct page in his textbook. "Us good guys gotta stick together if we want to survive this mess."

XXXXXXXXXX

Raylin had been walking for almost an hour and half. Her feet were already starting to hurt and her back was beginning to protest, but she wasn't going to stop. If she stopped, even for just a few minutes, Raylin didn't know if she'd be able to find the strength to start again. At the minute she was carefully picking her way down a particularly steep, rocky slope that led down onto flatter ground. She was keeping as far away from the road as possible, to minimise the chances of her being spotted. Unfortunately that meant trying to navigate some difficult terrain. Raylin used her stick to help steady herself while she lifted a foot and sought purchase just centimetres further down the slope. The heat out in the open was getting to be too much: sweat was beading on her forehead, making her hair fall limp around her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had something to drink. Gingerly, she set her foot down. And then several things happened at once.

Her surroundings began to misbalance and blur; her hood slipped and sudden, blinding sunlight blared into her eyes; droplets of sweat grew too large and ran, cool and stinging into her eyes. Her trainer touched the ground at the wrong angle. Raylin's bag strap slipped off her shoulder – the weight of the backpack pulled her arm down, making her drop her stick and jerk suddenly. She lost her footing, other arm coming free of the second strap. She was too surprised to cry out as she tumbled. The fall seemed to last forever. The world spun violently around her, blurring together with sharp, stinging pain as the jutting rocks cut into her skin and tore her clothes. And then, after an eternity, Raylin came to a skidding halt face down in the dirt.

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**Sorry if it's a bit of a cliffy :P But I've already started work on Chapter Four, so it should be up soon :] Review and let me know what you think :D xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**It's like...midnight :L Exactly. So I'm extremely tired but I had to get this posted first, and tomorrow I'm starting work on Chapter 25 of Sweet Escape. Any Sweet Escape readers, sorry for the delay! I feel bad! :(**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, you all made me smile :]!**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns Gone... :(.**

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Number 1: Find someone for Dahra to live with. _Check. _Edilio had stopped by Dahra's and given her Albert's key before heading to Computer Jack's. Now he was sitting in Jack's kitchen, questioning the 12 year old endlessly. "But _if _we can get some power, Jack, _if_ – would you be able to do it? Would it work?" The two were silent for a few minutes. Jack regarded his right hand, which was resting on top of the work surface he was leaning against, eyebrows scrunched together in thought.

"Theoretically...yeah, I could probably rope something like it together. Provided I have the stuff I need."

"Name it, and I'll try and get it."

"Wires, for a start. Some tools. A computer...access to the police station's computer and mainframe. A couple of little TV screens."

"Anything else?"

"I think that about covers it."

"Consider it done." Edilio got up from his seat at the kitchen table and Jack's face relaxed. "I'll send Brianna round to check all the cameras are in good condition. I'll get back to you as soon as we're able to start. Thank you, Jack." Computer Jack simply shrugged.

"'S alright," he mumbled. Edilio walked to the kitchen door, then half-turned back around.

"This goes no further than you and myself," he said. "I don't like keeping things from Sam, but if the HC find out what we're doing, for whatever reason, then the whole thing will be pointless." And with that he turned back and walked out, leaving the younger boy staring after him with a bemused expression on his face.

XXXXXXXXXX

_She was seven years old. Her long, auburn hair was pulled back into two cute plaits, to keep it out of her face. "Mommy, when can I sit in the front with you?" Her mother was making sure the booster seat was secure. She smiled as she reached to buckle her daughter in safely. Her pretty, heart-shaped face was kind and happy when she answered, pushing shining blonde hair out of her eyes._

"_Not until you're a big girl, honey. Then I promise you can sit with me."_

"_I _am _a big girl," Raylin protested. Her mother laughed. It sounded like bells._

"_Almost, baby, almost."_

_And then the scene changed. She was eight. She was sitting on the sofa with Katie, their Labrador. Her grandmother was crying. Her uncle was crying too. Raylin had never seen a boy cry before. But why was the officer lady making him cry? She cuddled into Katie. She didn't like it. She wanted Mommy. When were Mommy and Daddy coming home? The officer lady left. Her grandmother kept crying. But her uncle came and sat beside her, taking her onto his lap and holding her to him tightly. "Where's Mommy?" she asked, curious. They'd been gone for too long. She was young, but she remembered that the trip to the grocery store didn't take this long. They were supposed to be testing Daddy's new car...maybe they'd stopped to get her an ice cream?_

"_Mommy and Daddy have to go away for a while, Rayray."_

"_Where to? Can I go with them?"_

"_They have to go to Heaven, Rayray. They don't want to, but they have to go." Silence._

"_Was I bad? Did I upset Daddy?"_

"_No, no, honey. It's not your fault."_

_The scene shifted again. She was ten years old. Everything was dark; there was a beeping, like a siren. It hurt her ears. And then she saw an orange flicker. And then another. And then the smoke started seeping through the gap between her door and the wall. She pulled the door open. Smoke rushed at her, thick and blinding. Her uncle was shouting to her, but she couldn't see him, couldn't hear what he was saying. The smoke was choking her, weighing her lungs down. And then there was the fire, all around her, edging closer and closer until she could only see orange and red and yellow flames as they burnt everything in their path to nothingness. And then she started to ache – from the smoke, she thought. Until suddenly the ache became pain, and it got worse by the second. Everything was fading to black, but it was burning, like fire – fire in her veins, and on her skin and – _

Raylin wasn't sure what it was that woke her. She thought maybe it was the high-pitching howling of a Coyote in the distance. Or, more likely, it was the sharp, throbbing pain consuming her body that caused her eyes to flicker slowly open. She blinked at the sudden light that made her pale skin glow and green spots blur her vision. The first thing Raylin became aware of was the pain. The second thing was her position. She was sprawled awkwardly on her stomach, cheek pressed against the dirt.

She faced her right side, where her right arm was bent slightly beside her, palm resting on the ground by her nose. Her left arm was bent at an old angle, her hand pointing down in the direction of her feet, palm up. It hurt, but she didn't think it was broken. Warily, she twitched her fingers. Then began to move her right arm, very slowly, until it was straight. Raylin cautiously did the same with her left. It was only when she tried to push herself up onto her knees that a sudden, burning pain shot up her left arm. She rolled onto her back, clutching the injured arm to her chest, and used her good one up to edge herself up into a sitting position.

Then, feeling suddenly nauseous, she surveyed the damage. Raylin cursed herself for rolling up her sleeves. Her right arm was fairly bruised, but apart from a few nicks and scratches that was it. Her left forearm, on the other hand, was a different story. In places the rocks had cut so deep that blood was forcing its way out and sliding down her arm. Raylin could feel the shock starting to set in as she stared wide-eyed at her wounds; she fought back a wave of queasiness, fighting to keep her hands steady.

Raylin took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. She did that for a good minute at least before she felt calm enough to think properly. She needed something to tie round her arm, to slow the bleeding. There was an old t-shirt in her bag, one she'd had to stop wearing when it got too holey. She could tear that into strips and use it as a sort of bandage. Her backpack lay a few feet away at the foot of the slope, dusty but apparently unharmed. There was no way she could reach it from where she sat. Sighing, Raylin looked down at her legs. Her skinny jeans were torn in several places and she could see minor cuts and grazes scattered across her knees, but it looked like they were only scrapes.

They stung like hell, but she would live. So she bit her lip and forced herself to stand. She half-shuffled, half-limped on wobbly legs over to her bag and sat down heavily beside it, pulling it onto her lap with one hand. It took her a while, but she managed to tear the old shirt apart and secure the strips around her arm, using her mouth to help tie the knot. If only that Healer girl was still in Perdido Beach. Now she was going to have to steal some antiseptic too, and hope nothing got infected. When she was done she struggled to her feet again and slipped her bag back onto her shoulders. Raylin pulled her hood back up: the sun was higher in the sky than before. She'd been out for at least a little while.

There was no chance of getting to Perdido Beach before dark now. Carefully she lifted her wounded arm to her chest, remembering reading something somewhere about elevation slowing bleeding. There was nothing for it. No matter how much it hurt, she had to get walking again. She needed the water. And now, she needed the med stuff. Raylin swore under her breath.

Just her freakin' luck.

XXXXXXXXXX

Edilio knocked hesitantly on the front door, not wanting to be here but knowing it had to be done. Part of him felt guilty. Sam was still struggling with things in the aftermath of the battle with the Gaiaphage, at the mine shaft. He'd been so furious when he found out that Zil and the HC had hurt Astrid and Little Pete that he almost set fire to Orc's living room. It had taken Howard, Edilio, Quinn and Orc himself to calm him down. Now, Edilio stood on Sam and Astrid's doorstep and wished once more he was home in bed. It was nearly midday, and he was feeling the effects of his almost sleepless night. Edilio would do almost anything for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

That, and something decent to eat. But he, as part of the Temporary Council of Perdido Beach, had agreed to Astrid's rationing idea; he knew as well as the rest of the Council that food was incredibly short, and the food they had wasn't exactly the most appetizing in the world, but they had to make do. He ate just enough to stay healthy, and that was what mattered. Still he'd do just about anything for a chicken burger round about now.

Before he could torture himself with more fantasies of all the food he could eat, the door opened. Astrid stood holding it open, smiling at him. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing denim shorts and an actual t-shirt. It was just plain light blue, but it was a huge difference from the blouses she normally wore. "Hey," she said brightly. She sounded more cheerful than she had done in a long time. Astrid saw him looking at her outfit, and her smile became sheepish. "Figured I might as well start dressing for the lifestyle," she explained in a murmur.

"You look nice," said Edilio, smiling back. "And your black eye's finally gone, too," he noted. The bruise from the baseball bat had faded away, no longer marring her face.

"I know, thank God. Anyway, come in. Sam's in the living room: he's been helping me with Petey's exercises. They're like...an attempt to help his communication skills..." Edilio nodded, kind of understanding what she meant.

"Thanks, Astrid. I hate to bother you two."

"It's alright," said Astrid, shrugging. "If you need to discuss something, then you need to discuss something." She smiled at Sam as they entered the living room, picking up Little Pete who was clutching his game boy tightly and staring at Edilio with glassy eyes. "I'll take Petey into the kitchen, so you guys can talk in here," she said, and shut the door behind her on her way out.

"Hey, man," said Sam, getting to his feet; he'd been sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

"Hey, Sam." Edilio sat down on one of the armchairs and Sam took a seat on the sofa opposite him, looking curious. "You look better," he said, a smile forming on his lips. The corner of Sam's mouth turned upwards.

"Yeah...I'm feeling a lot better, too. There's still a lot that needs doing, but...I'm feeling better about it."

"Good, that's good...uh..." Edilio chewed his lip thoughtfully, not quite sure how to explain the situation with Dahra and the Human Crew. "Listen, Sam...it's the Human Crew." Sam visibly tensed. Edilio could almost see the memories of Astrid's black eye bubbling under Sam's now cool exterior.

"It's not just the Moofs they're threatening anymore. Someone from the HC threw a brick through Dahra's window this morning. Quinn told Taylor to come get me at half five, to save bothering you so early. Her entire window was smashed in. Luckily Albert's agreed to let her stay in his spare room, so it's not like she has nowhere to go. She didn't want to be alone, the whole thing kinda shook her up. But it's the principal." Edilio sighed. "The HC are starting to target the people who associate themselves with Moofs, now." He gave a small, humourless smile. "Let's face it, I'm already on their hitlist. Bottom line, Sam, is something needs to be done. Before somebody gets hurt." Sam nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

For a while they sat in silence while Edilio let Sam think. Edilio was relieved that Sam agreed with him. But he had a feeling that it was going to be a very, very long day. At least, when he finally did get home, he'd have cabbage and fish for dinner, a cold shower and another sleepless night to look forward to. Fabulous. "You're right," Sam said quietly, cutting Edilio's mini rant short. "Thanks for telling me." Sam stopped frowning at the floor and looked up at Edilio, expression relaxing. "Listen, Edilio, can you find Brianna and tell her to tell everyone to be at the church at one o'clock? I think it's about time for another town meeting."

"Sure, Sam. Anything else?"

"I think that should do it. Let's just hope it works." Edilio nodded, and the two of them stood up.

"It has to work," Edilio mumbled, almost to himself, and Sam silently agreed. "I'll find Brianna and tell her what to do. I'll see you later, Sam."

"Bye, Edilio. Thanks again."  
"Anytime."

Edilio said goodbye to Astrid and Little Pete on his way out, then started off in the direction of home. Brianna would probably be at the house she shared with Dekka and Taylor. But luckily he didn't have to get that far. He'd only gotten to the end of the street when a blur passed by him. "Hey, Breeze!" he called, although he didn't think she'd hear him. Surprisingly, she did, and doubled back to see what he wanted.

"Edilio? Hi," she said, not even out of breath. "Did you call me?"

"Yeah," he said. "Me and Sam need a favour, if you have time?"

"Sure, 'course. What is it?"

"Sam's having a meeting in the church at one," Edilio explained, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's about the Human Crew," he added in a lower tone.

"Ahhh..." Brianna nodded knowingly. "Okay, I'll go round and tell everyone they need to be there. But..." She bit her lip, a shadow of a frown crossing her face. "You _do_ know a lot of people won't come, right?"

"Give them an ultimatum. Come to the meeting, or Orc will be 'having words'." Edilio grinned slyly. "We won't really send him round, obviously, but _they_ don't know that."

Brianna laughed. "Good idea," she said. "Okay, I'll do that. Bye!" She was gone before he could even say a word.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was only an hour after she started walking – for the second time – that Raylin realised her watch was broken. There was a large crack across the face, and the screen itself was blank, the numbers gone. She sighed, a wave of pure irritation making her frown at the broken watch. She really must have been out in the sun too long: for a split second, she thought she saw the numbers reappear on the screen. But, when Raylin's annoyance evaporated and she blinked to make sure she was seeing clearly, she found the screen was still completely blank.

Raylin sighed, and continued on.

XXXXXXXXXX

"There's a meeting at the church at one. You've got to go – it's important." Brianna repeated the same thing she'd been saying for the last half an hour. The kid she was talking to, about ten, she guessed, short and grumpy-looking, rolled his eyes and attempted to shut the door on her.

"Like I care about some stupid meeting," he said. Brianna stuck her foot in between the door and the door frame, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Fine, don't come. I'll just tell Orc all about you playing up. You do remember Orc, right? You know, the guy made out of rock? The one who threw Zil Sperry so far that when he landed he broke a couple ribs? Took Lana a while to heal him, especially with what the landing did to his face – "

"Okay, okay," said the kid, eyes wide now. He cleared his throat and tried to hide the fear that was plain as day on his face. "Fine. I'll go." Brianna's dark expression disappeared and was replaced with a bright smile.

"Good choice!" she said cheerfully. "Orc won't have to 'have words'. See you later!" And then she was gone, already knocking on the door of the next inhabited house.

XXXXXXXXXX

Edilio stood behind and to the left of Sam, at the front of the church, facing the pews. He was pleased to see that they were pretty full. Beside him stood Quinn and Dekka, and to their right on Sam's other side stood Astrid, Albert, Brother John and Howard. Together, they all made up the Temporary Council of Perdido Beach. The kids before them muttered to each other and all looked like they would rather be somewhere else. Anywhere else. That thought brought a frown to Dekka's face. Their ignorance infuriated her.

Sam didn't bother asking them to quiet down. Instead he just raised his right hand, and shot a short stream of fiery green light into the air. Silence fell immediately. "Glad to see you all came," he said to the many surprised, and slightly fearful faces turned towards him. Let them be fearful, he thought. He was done with being Mr Nice Guy. The kids of Perdido Beach had to wake up to the reality of what was going to happen if they didn't start getting it together, and soon. If not now. "Shame I had to drag you all here on a Saturday afternoon, but this is important. So listen." Sam scanned the crowd. Everyone was paying attention. "We all know food is short right now. We're working on it. Albert's set up a fishing business, and Edilio's guys are helping grow crops. And to the very few of you that have been helping, thank you." His tone became firm, almost scolding.

"To the rest of you: wake up. This isn't some adventure, this is _real life_. It's not all just going to blow over like it does it movies, and books, and on TV. If you don't help, if you don't work, you're going to starve. To death. And it won't be quick, either. It'll be long, and painful, and you'll only have yourselves to blame." He sighed heavily. "I hate being harsh, but that's life now. Shit happens. So, you have your chance to help out now. Speak to Albert about getting a job – which you will be paid for, and you will be able to use the money to buy stuff you need. No more complaining about how you don't have any toothpaste or soap or whatever. _Buy _some. As for the rationing, _everyone _gets the same amount of food. _Everyone_. People with powers, people without powers; the same amount. The Littles at the Day Care with Mary and John are eating _exactly_ _the same amount_ as what I'm eating. Got it?"

There were a few hesitant nods. Behind Sam, Dekka tried to hide a smug smile. The kids were scared. Good. Maybe it'd shock some sense into them. Then she turned her gaze back to Sam as he continued. "That's not the only thing you all need to accept the truth about," he said, sounding authoritative and blunt. Sounding like a leader. "You all need have some common sense about the Human Crew." The room erupted in hushed whispers, but he ignored them and carried on, raising his voice to be heard. "A lot of people think it's 'cool' to be in the HC. To follow Zil. They think it's 'cool' to follow the orders of a bunch of thugs who _enjoy _hurting innocent people, just because they have powers. Well do you know what? That's discrimination. And if we start discriminating against each other, we're going to end up in one Hell of a mess. We'll probably end up dead. Now, how many of you in here have powers?"

Many people in the crowd raised their hands, including some people that Sam hadn't even known had powers at all. "Now, how many of you have developed your powers within the last three months?" Several people lowered their hands: Computer Jack, Brianna, Taylor, and various others that Edilio knew. But there were still a lot of hands raised, and that caused more whispering within the crowd. Sam motioned for the people to lower their hands, and as they did so, he spoke again. "People are still developing powers. That means that, one day, it could be you. Any of you. Seems Zil hasn't realised that. See, the Human Crew are...violent, you could say, when it comes to 'Moofs'." He raised his hands to do the inverted commas. "They aren't just spray-painting graffiti all over town, and making 'empty' threats. They're smashing people's windows, they're throwing rocks at people in the street, and they're _willing _to _physically injure _someone with powers. Do you all get that? Do you really want to follow someone so bloodthirsty, so cruel, and so idiotic? What if one day you wake up and you can move things with your mind, or maybe simply make your reflection disappear? The Human Crew aren't going to care that you followed them. They're going to chase you, and if they catch you then you're in deep trouble, because Lana isn't here anymore to heal the damage they do to your face."

He wracked his brain for a way to communicate what he wanted to say to the people he was supposed to be leading. "Say, like a lot of you, you have a little brother, or a little sister. They're...what? Nine, ten years old. They start developing some kind of power. Start doing something that is completely unnatural. But they can't help it if they can pick up something ten times their weight or...or disappear and reappear fifty feet away in the blink of an eye. It doesn't matter what they can do, because they're the only family you have left, and you love them. And then one day, the Human Crew find out. They won't care that your brother or sister is all you have, or that they're only ten years old. They'll hurt them. And if things keep going the way they are, pretty soon they'll be trying to kill them. So before you leave, start thinking about whose side you're on. Do you want to live in a world where things aren't always fair, but there's enough to eat and you can get by in safety, without judgement? Or do you want to live in a world where the powerful rule the powerless, and any day it could be you that's getting a brick through your window or a crowbar in the direction of your head? Make your choice. And I can assure you that if you make the wrong one, you _will _regret it."

As Sam turned away, letting out a breath and running a hand through his hair, the kids all stood up and started leaving. The rest of the Council crowded round Sam and assured him that he'd done a great job, but Edilio was distracted. Sam's speech had made him realise just how ugly things were going to get. People were seriously going to start getting hurt. And that meant they needed Lana back, as soon as possible. He sighed.

Well, at least he'd been right about the 'long day' part.

* * *

**So that was long :L Lol. I felt bad for dragging it out, so I tried to make this include as much as possible! It's not intentional, honest, it's just a lot needs to happen to set the story up :L Anyway, reviews are loved and appreciated, and make me update faster :] xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Back with Chapter Five :] After this, things are finally going to start speeding up ^^ I reeeaallyyy should be updating my other fics, but I had to get this written and posted asap :L**

**Hope you enjoy :P**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gone...just own Raylin Cooper, and the plot of this fic.**

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Edilio nodded for what felt like the fifth time in as many minutes. It probably was, he thought. He had to hold back a sigh as he shut the door of the truck, leaning a forearm on the outside of the door through the rolled-down window.

"Really, I'll be fine," Edilio said, wishing he felt as confident as he sounded. He tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Dekka watched him with concern in her eyes, eyebrows drawn slightly together in a worried frown.

Edilio knew what she was thinking about: the last time he'd been out in the desert he'd almost died. Dekka had had to try and hold in the blood after he'd been shot by the one person he was now going to try and find. She still had nightmares about it, she'd said. Edilio knew exactly what she meant; it had been a week, but still he would sometimes wake in a cold sweat, the agonizing burning pain spreading through his heart and chest slowly fading into an unsettling tingling sensation. He still had the shirt covered in his blood, the light, plaid button-up one. Half the buttons were missing because Dekka hadn't had time to fuss about – she'd simply torn it to get at the wound. He wasn't sure why he still had it.

Dekka's eyes were still on him, and his half-hearted smile had faded somewhat. "Okay," Dekka said eventually, sighing and placing a hand gently on his arm. "Just be careful, yeah?" This time Edilio's smile wasn't so forced. After everything that had happened, Dekka had become one of his closest friends. She was smart, and attractive ,and fiercely loyal. Dekka would rather die than betray the people she loved. That was one of the things Edilio especially liked about her. Maybe if she liked boys he might have liked her in that way. But, seeing as Dekka wasn't that way inclined, Edilio was content with just having her as one of his best friends.

"I will, Dekka," he said, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. "I'll be back tonight anyway. Late – you know how stubborn Lana can get – but I'll come back."

Dekka nodded, and moved away. Edilio started the engine and waved at her and the rest of the Council as he drove away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Raylin stopped, listening intently. She could've sworn she heard something. But now that she had stopped walking and was listening hard, there was nothing. Raylin shook her head, certain she was going crazy. There was just no other explanation. Or maybe eating the fruit-like things had been a bad idea. For all she knew they could really be poisonous, gnawing away at her insides while she stumbled on, clueless. She moved, just a simple motion, her foot lifting slightly to take the next step. And then she heard it again. A low, rumbling sound in the distance. And growing steadily closer.

She stood there for maybe a half a minute, head tilted to the side. If she hadn't been concentrating so hard on the noise, she might have even laughed at how much she resembled some sort of dog. Her brow creased in thought – she was going to have frown lines if she kept it up. But then Raylin swore under her breath, sinking ridiculously fast into a low crouch. Her knees and back protested painfully, and she swore again. Pain and sheer exhaustion had made her lose focus. She'd been wandering slowly closer and closer to the road, and now she could clearly see a black dot in the distance, growing larger, and fast. Raylin ran at a crouch and took cover behind a thick, tangled – and yet, seemingly half-dead – bush. She peered curiously over the top.

The dot grew to the point where it was easily recognizable as a car, and she tried to gauge the number of passengers. She squinted. It appeared to be just the driver. The truck looked familiar somehow; a niggling feeling in the back of her mind told her that she'd seen it somewhere before. It wasn't until the truck turned off of the road, heading straight out into the bleak stretch of desert that the light bulb clicked on above her head. Raylin _had _seen the truck before. Quite a few times. It was generally driven by same guy. She'd never been close enough to get a good look at him, and it had been a while since she'd seen him anyway, but she knew that he nearly always carried a gun. A couple of times Raylin had seen him out in the fields with a bunch of other people, trying to harvest the crops without being eaten by those vicious little worm things.

Occasionally she'd spotted him when she'd had to slink into town on a supplies run. She may not have been certain about what he looked like, but she knew one thing for definite: people down in Perdido Beach had a lot of respect for the guy. And that was reason enough for her to be curious. Last time she'd been in town she'd seen him at a distance, which had told her he'd grown since the first time she'd seen him. He was taller, more muscular although in an unassuming way. He'd been defending a girl and boy from a group of armed kids, and she'd admired his bravery.

On her way back out of town she'd come across the group again, going by the name of the 'Human Crew'. Trying to hang the boy who'd been defended from the front entrance of a church. Raylin had wanted to stop. She'd wanted to run in there and slap every single frenzied kid round the face, scream at them to cut the crap and wake the Hell up to what they were doing. The smell of the meat had made her stomach rumble faintly, but she had pushed the hunger aside. Raylin had never hated someone as much as she hated Zil Sperry in that moment. The thought of her fist wiping the smug look of power off his face brought her an unbeatable sense of satisfaction.

But she'd had to move on, even though everything in her knew that what was happening was wrong, and content herself with the knowledge that one day, Zil Sperry would get what was coming to him._ Preferably in the form of damage inflicted by yours truly_, Raylin thought darkly. When the truck had faded into the distance she got to her feet again. She wasn't quite sure of the time, but something told her it wasn't yet mid-afternoon. Still, getting to town before dark _would _be nice.

Hopefully this time she'd stay away from the road.

XXXXXXXXXX

Edilio shifted restlessly in the driver's seat, hands clutching the wheel firmly. He'd been driving at least an hour. He wasn't sure where he was going to find Lana, but he knew his best bet would be somewhere in the desert. It was far away from Perdido Beach, and quiet. Lana had always liked her privacy.

Right now he was skirting the edges of the desert, sharp rocky slopes and mountainous hills raising skywards on his left. The going wasn't completely smooth: occasionally the truck would dip or bump over the uneven terrain, and he was glad he had his seatbelt on. The revolver was stowed safely in the glove compartment, with the safety on and wrapped in cloth to stop anything pressing against the trigger. Apart from the growl of the engine, it was silent. Edilio cleared his throat, almost experimentally. Like he was testing the quiet. Then he sucked in a deep breath and let it out as a sigh.

He really was getting paranoid. He shouldn't be seeing the quiet as eerie – well, maybe a little creepy, but not in a threatening way. It should be a blessing. He should be using this time to try and clear up the jumbled mess of problems and thoughts and sleep-deprivation that was his mind. Starting with what he was doing right now. Edilio had volunteered to go find Lana, after he'd explained how important her return to Perdido Beach was. They couldn't afford to risk someone else dying, because they couldn't reach her in time. He'd had to repress a shudder when that possibility had left his lips, and the scar on the upper left side of his chest had twinged uncomfortably.

So here he was. Out in the desert, with absolutely no idea where he was going, only hoping that this time nobody was going to get shot. Seeing Lana again was going to be painful enough. He'd liked her. Not loved her, but liked her more than he'd let on. But it wasn't like it mattered now, anyway. Edilio knew for a fact that Quinn felt more than just friendship for the Healer, and if the rumours were true then she returned the feelings. It explained why Quinn had been a little more subdued lately. That 'if' wasn't as big as it would have been before the FAYZ. People rarely spread things that weren't true anymore. Lies could get people hurt now. Misinformation could get someone killed.

Nevertheless, he'd really liked her, and what had he gotten in return? A bullet in the chest that had very nearly killed him. He wouldn't have believed it when they told him how close he'd been to death, if Dekka didn't go pale and quiet every time someone brought it up. But he was going to have to set personal feelings aside for now. Perdido Beach needed Lana back. She was the only Moof Zil and the HC would leave alone, and maybe if people _knew _her loyalty lay with Sam, it would boost their chances of winning this...whatever it was.

Edilio hoped he was adding to their chances himself. He'd had a flash of inspiration at Dahra's house that morning, and with Computer Jack's help, he might be in with a chance of making his idea work. If they could get the town's security cameras up and running again, and have access to the live footage, they would be able to track the Human Crew's movements. They'd be able to prevent so much from happening. They'd know who was responsible for what. They'd have hard evidence. If it worked. But Jack wasn't your average 12 year old when it came down to dealing with technology –

THUD! Edilio swerved, the truck jerking wildly to the right. He glanced at the window next to him, foot slamming on the brakes as a second coyote launched itself at the glass. It hit with another dull thud, falling back onto four legs and snarling. Thank God he'd rolled the window back up. A third coyote collided with the other window, and then there was a clicking sound and the truck bounced slightly as a fourth climbed up onto the bonnet. It growled at Edilio with a ferocity that made his blood run cold, showing sharp, pointed teeth and canines like small daggers that glinted threateningly in the afternoon sun.

Dimly he was aware of some kind of commotion at the door by his side, but he was too busy eyeing the razor sharp claws and reaching for the glove compartment. Edilio fumbled with the catch but it was too late. The driver's door opened and he tore his seatbelt off, trying to retreat further into the truck to escape the snapping jaws that reached for him. He was in the passenger seat and kicking blindly any twisted, snarling face that came near, eyes darting around wildly looking for a means of escape.

"Shit!" he cursed breathlessly, realising he was trapped. "_Shit_!" A miniscule pang of victory pierced his heart when his trainer made contact with something solid, and there was a sudden whining yelp. The feeling was short-lived. Teeth closed on the hem of his jeans and on pulled, and the only reason he didn't hold onto the wheel for dear life was because of the jaws that encased his left ankle, digging in painfully. He let himself be pulled out, not wanting to think about how easily those teeth could snap bone if he didn't comply.

Edilio's back hit rough, hard ground, knocking the breath from him temporarily. But he scrambled to his feet seconds later. The coyotes were gathering, circling him, closing in. The biggest one, the one that had been standing on the bonnet of the truck, pushed past the others and growled again. Edilio breathed in shallow, panicking gasps, frantically searching his brain for something to do, something to say. Just moments ago he'd been in the truck, he'd been driving, it had all happened so fast –

"Pack Leader!" He blurted the words before he knew what he was doing. Then he took a deep breath, steadied himself. "I want to speak to Pack Leader," Edilio said. He used the tone he reserved for facing down members of the Human Crew. It always made them back down, even Zil himself. Nobody messed with Edilio Escobar when he used that tone. The largest coyote made an odd hissing noise, and crouched lower to the ground.

"Pack hungry," he drawled in a familiar, rasping, inhuman voice that clawed at Edilio's mind. "Pack eat."

And then they sprang. Edilio went down in a flurry of claws and snarls and teeth and fur, crying out in surprise. He tried to hit back, but they had him pinned. Claws ripped at his shirt and he felt teeth sink into his arm, and cursed himself for even thinking of coming out here. He was going to die. He'd let Sam down. He'd let Dekka down. He'd let Quinn and Brianna and Taylor and Jack down, and now he was going to die.

At least he'd get to see his Mom again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Raylin cursed the California weather. She was so tired and so thirsty she thought she might pass out. The cool darkness was a tempting thought. She ached all over. Pain was rocketing up and down her left arm, down her back, through her knees. Raylin thought of her birthday. She had two weeks to make her choice. Stay in, or step out.

The second one was sounding more and more like a good idea.

XXXXXXXXX

A gunshot cut the air, loud and booming. A shotgun, maybe. And just like that, the coyotes were gone. Edilio opened his eyes, propping himself up on his elbows as a shadow appeared over him. A hand on his chest pushed him gently back down, and sudden, stinging pain made him grit his teeth. "You and deserts just don't mix, Edilio." Edilio froze in the middle of checking himself over, and looked up. He knew that voice.

"Lana?"

"No, Inspector Gadget." Lana Arwen Lazar rolled her eyes, pushing her sleeves up and tucking her long hair behind her ears. She swept her gaze over Edilio and raised her eyebrows. "God, they really did mess you up."

Edilio looked down. His arm throbbed where one of the coyotes had mercilessly used their entire weight to pin him down. There were teeth marks in his upper arm, where the canines of another coyote had punctured the skin. It burned terribly and blood oozed from the wound at an unsettling pace. His shirt was torn in several places. The coyotes' claws had gone straight through the material, leaving streaks of red across his chest. Edilio pressed a hand against the biggest claw mark. He was wearing fingerless gloves, to minimize the battering his hands would take if he had to fire the gun. They were black, woollen, but when he took his hand away the material looked damp and tinged a different type of dark. Lana put a hand on the wound on his arm and slid the other up under his shirt, covering the first of the claw marks.

"How did you find me?" Edilio asked. It was a stupid question, seeing as the truck was a blob of black in an expanse of orange and yellow dusty ground, but he needed something else to think about besides the pain. Anything else. _Another shirt ruined_, he noted silently, eyeing the bloodstains spreading across the front of his white shirt.

"Heard you coming a mile away, with an engine as loud as that in a place as quiet as this," Lana explained. She was silent for a minute, then moved her hand from his arm. The wound was completely healed, although he would have to was the drying blood off. His heart sank when he saw the two circular scars that marred the skin. They weren't as obvious as the one left by the bullet, having not been as deep, but they were there. "I think the claw marks are going to scar, too," Lana murmured.

Edilio sighed. "What else is new," he muttered. Five minutes later Lana helped him to his feet, and he dusted himself down. He'd been right about the shotgun. Lana switched the safety on and opened the back door of the truck, setting it down carefully on the backseat.

"I live literally just a few minutes' drive away," she said, closing the door and walking round to hop in the passenger seat. "Come on, we can talk there." Edilio got wearily back in the driver's seat, not bothering with his seatbelt, and started the engine. He'd left the keys in the ignition. Lana gestured straight ahead, and he eased on the accelerator. They didn't speak as they drove, until they came to a stop at a little wooden cabin. "The coyotes don't ever come near," Lana said, opening her door and climbing out. "So don't worry about the truck. It'll be fine." Edilio nodded, pocketed the keys, and got out.

The cabin wasn't big, but it wasn't too small. The walls were plain dark wood, same as the floor. A door led off into what Edilio presumed was a small bathroom, but apart from that it was just one room. A bed was pushed into the corner and neatly made. There was a bookcase in another corner, stacked with numerous books, next to a small, worn loveseat. There was also a fridge and a cooker, and a small kitchen counter underneath a cupboard. An old, stone fireplace finished off the room. "Cosy," said Edilio as Lana shut the door behind them.

"Thanks," she said, and gestured to the loveseat. "Take a seat. Uh..." Lana ran a hand through her hair, as if she wasn't quite sure what to do. "I'd offer you some water and stuff to clean up, but the guy who lived her didn't have a sink and I'm trying to conserve supplies. Unless I switch the shower on and get some from that?"

"Don't worry about it," Edilio said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'll clean up when I get home." Lana nodded, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So," she began after thirty seconds of awkward silence. "What brings you all the way out here?" Edilio forced himself to look at her. He tried to see Lana the Healer, instead of Lana the Friend, Lana the Girl. Lana the Girl Who Liked Quinn.

"Things are getting bad, Lana," he said quietly, meeting her eyes. "The Human Crew are going to start getting more full of it. People are going to get hurt..." Something in Lana's eyes hardened, and she looked down at the floor. A slight frown came to her face.

"So you came to drag me back." It was a statement, not a question.

"No. Not drag you. Ask you." Edilio sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. He needed more sleep. A lot more sleep. "Sam spoke to the town today, tried to get it through their heads that the HC are bad news. But we all know there are going to be those who don't listen. Zil and his followers are starting to target people who associate themselves with Moofs, even if they're Normals. You're about the only Moof they'll leave alone now. Dahra refused to stop treating Moofs – that got her a brick through her window this morning, and now she's having to move in with Albert."

When he looked up Lana was watching him carefully. She didn't quite make his heart speed up like she used to, and he guessed that was a good thing. He didn't want to like her that way anymore. "And where does that leave you?" Lana asked. Her voice was barely more than a whisper, and Edilio couldn't meet her gaze. He looked down at the floor and only looked up when he'd managed to fix a half-hearted smile on his face.

"Well, you know me," he said. "I'm the Sheriff. I'm Sam's second in command. I defended Hunter from them. It doesn't matter whether I'm a Normal or not, to them I'm a freak-lover. I'm probably on the top of their list."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was dark. Night had fallen quicker than Raylin had anticipated, and now the only moonlight was illuminating her way. But that didn't matter. She was in town now, having made it to the edges of Perdido Beach. She made as little noise as possible as she carefully made her way through the deserted streets, not even knowing what she was looking for. Even an inhabited house would be in darkness. Raylin pictured the McClub in her mind, standing dark and empty, void of customers. No electricity. No more McClub.

Raylin stopped in front of a little house with the curtains open and all the windows firmly shut. _This house_, her instincts told her. _This is the one._ She crept silently up the driveway and to the front door. She found it locked. So she walked round to the side of the house instead, looking for an open window she hadn't seen. She found one, shrouded in shadow. Nobody would see her climb in. Raylin pulled the window open further and heaved herself up, setting her feet down on a smooth work surface. She edged down until her feet touched the floor, and then looked around.

She was in a kitchen. Perfect. She went to the cupboards, passing straight by the fridge, pulling them open. The first two were empty. The third had two clear plastic zip-up bags, filled with what looked to Raylin like fish and some kind of vegetable. She closed the doors and moved on to the next one. She grinned in victory. The cupboard was filled with several little bottles of water. Raylin took one, and set it down on the work surface. Then she closed the cupboard up and pulled open a drawer. For a second she considered filling her own bottle at the tap, but then decided against it. She couldn't afford to wake anyone up with noisy plumbing.

Raylin dug around in the drawer as quietly as she could, looking for antiseptic and some plasters. Or, even better, just a first aid kid. Her backpack was heavy on her shoulders, weighing her down. Tiredness had dulled her senses. Which was probably why she didn't hear the low rumbling, growling noise. She stopped searching the drawer to listen just a fraction of a second too late, and heard nothing. But then she heard the unmistakeable sound of a key turning in the lock, and froze. _Oh, shit!_ Raylin pushed the drawer shut and grabbed the bottle, turning to face the doorway. It was too late.

A boy came into view, running a hand through his hair, and stopped. He stared at her like he'd never seen another human being before. Raylin's heart skipped a couple beats when she realised who it was.

It was the boy from the truck.

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**Yaaaaay! They finally met :L Anywhoo, I gotta go get some stuff done [like update my other fics before I start getting flamed :L] Reviews are always loved and always make me smile :] xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Back with Chapter Six :] Hope you like it, it took me forever because I wanted to get it right for you :]**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns Gone - But I own Raylin and the plot of this fic ;]**

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Edilio froze. There was a girl in his kitchen. At ten o'clock at night. His gaze swept over her small frame. He'd never seen her in town before, and he knew pretty much everyone. Edilio stared in confusion. She had to be from out of town, like Orsay. His eyes lingered on the makeshift bandage wrapped securely around her left forearm. It was partially covered in something that glinted black in the darkness, and he knew instinctively what it was. "Go on, take a good look." Edilio looked up and met the girl's gaze. She was scowling slightly, a defensive look in her eyes. "I'm not gonna stick around. I just needed the water."

She hitched her backpack up and picked up the bottle, making to walk past him out the door. "Wait." The volume of Edilio's voice surprised him, and the girl froze. He thought he would have been speechless with surprise. Edilio swallowed and wondered what to say. "Wait," he repeated. "Don't leave." His eyes took in her ragged appearance. Her clothes were torn and dirty in places, and he spotted more stains of blood on the knees of her jeans. Something deep inside him wanted to help her. It was the same thing telling him that she was important, but he couldn't for the life of him even begin to wonder why. "You're hurt," he said. "Let me help you." The girl snorted.

"I don't need anyone's help," she mumbled, but she didn't move.

Raylin's arm was throbbing painfully. If life had taught her one thing, it was that depending on people got you nowhere. They would leave in the end, and you'd be even worse off. Since her uncle died she'd grown to not need people. It was part of the reason why she'd tried to stay away from Perdido Beach as much as possible since the FAYZ began. But the boy's eyes were honest, and she really couldn't afford for her arm to get infected. She sighed and put the bottle back down on the kitchen counter. The boy immediately relaxed, all the tension flooding out of them both. He gestured to the table and went to one of the drawers while Raylin dumped her bag by a chair and shrugged off her hoodie.

She heard the sound of running water, and she'd only been sat down a moment or two when the boy sank into a chair opposite her, and deposited a bunch of stuff on the table. He carefully lit two little candles with a box of matches from the pile, and set them on the side of the table. "My name's Edilio," he said quietly as he took off his fingerless gloves and searched through the rest of the stuff. Raylin studied him under the candlelight. It was the first time she'd ever seen him properly. His skin was a pretty tan colour, with a hint of olive. Mexican, she guessed, and then shook that thought away. No, he wasn't Mexican. Honduran, maybe? His black hair was short and ruffled, and his eyes were a dark, mysterious brown. His features were all perfectly proportioned, like he'd completely passed by that odd, slightly gawky phase a lot of boys go through in their teenage years.

"Raylin," she found herself saying. "Raylin Cooper."

Edilio looked up at her, having sorted everything out in front of him. For some reason he smiled, corners of his mouth turning up of their own accord. Raylin smiled tentatively back, and he felt more at ease. She was quite pale, even with the yellowish glow of the candles illuminating her face, but her long auburn hair more than made up for it. It hung past her shoulders in loose curls, and she'd tucked one side behind her ear. Her eyes were a strange combination of chocolate brown with a mossy green tinge. Edilio realised he was staring and turned his gaze downwards, reaching out a hand.

For a few moments, Raylin looked at it, and he could almost see the wheels turning her head. Trust, or don't trust? After a little while of battling with the inner turmoil, Raylin let him gently take her arm. Edilio examined it carefully and laid it slowly down on the table, palm up, so as not to hurt her.

"How come I haven't seen you around town before?" he asked quietly, although he wasn't sure if she would answer or not. Raylin looked up at him from underneath her lashes, hesitating. His expression was unreadable as he cleaned the wounds with water and cotton wool, taking care to do it slowly and softly. He didn't want to startle her, let alone hurt her even more than she must already have been. But when he looked up his eyes were kind and his smile genuine, and it made Raylin think. She was used to not trusting people. But so far talking to him had been so easy, and there were no warning bells going off in her head.

"I try not to come into town, if I can help it," she answered truthfully. "I've been living rough since day one. It's just easier that way. No people around to stab you in the back or turn on you."

Edilio raised his eyebrows slightly, and she turned her gaze downwards to his hands on her arm. "Rough childhood," she murmured. Edilio snorted, and reached for some antiseptic and more cotton wool.

"Don't worry, mine wasn't exactly perfect either," he explained. Raylin couldn't help but notice he didn't sound bitter at all. She told him so, and he chuckled. "Well, there's not really any point in being bitter anymore. That's the thing about the FAYZ. It changes things. I'm used to not always having something to eat, so things are easier for me than for some of the others." He picked up two large, white surgical plasters and angled them on her arm so that they covered most of the damage. "And whatever it is that you went through," he continued as he stuck them down, and moved his hands to hers, "it's made you strong enough to survive this long on your own."

They sat looking at each other for a few seconds, in a silence that was somewhere between awkward and comfortable. It was the nearest Raylin had been to another human being since the FAYZ began, and she wondered what life must be like for the kids of Perdido Beach. She wondered if they still got lonely sometimes, like she did – although she'd be damned if she'd ever admit it – despite being surrounded by other people. But then Edilio moved back and look down at knees, and for a brief moment Raylin couldn't help but wish he'd put his hands back. It was nice to be close to someone. "Want me to take a look?" He asked, glancing at the antiseptic. Raylin saw no point in arguing. Her grandmother had always been a fan of that saying, "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well." She might as well make sure that everything was sorted out while she had the opportunity.

"Yeah, please," she said quietly. Edilio moved his chair round she turned hers slightly, lifting the most damaged leg to lie it across his lap. He tried not to jostle her as he pulled off another section of cotton wool and dampened it with some water from a bottle. It was only when Raylin tried to hide a wince that she realised the table was no longer partially blocking her view of him, and that the dark marks and tears on his shirt weren't just part of a design. Edilio saw her eyes widen and smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm fine," he said. "Don't worry. Just...got into a bit of trouble earlier." He tried hard to keep his expression from darkening. He didn't like his brushes with death. And he didn't like the scars and emotional turmoil they left him with.

"The Healer girl found you then? Out in the desert?"

"Yeah...I was lucky that she got there when she did – wait, how do you know about Lana?" He gave a little frown as he looked up at her. "And how do you know where I went?" Raylin couldn't help it. A light blush rose to her cheeks, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"I saw your truck on my way here," she explained. "I've seen you around town before when I've snuck in. I hid behind a bush so you wouldn't see me. And...I know a lot of things. I've seen a lot of things."

To her surprise, Edilio smiled. "Wow, a survivor with good spying skills," he said as he gestured for her to lift the other leg. "You really are something." Raylin's blush worsened. She told herself it wasn't her fault: he was pretty good-looking, and he's just complimented her and he was _touching her leg_. Even if it was just to fix her knee.

"Thanks," Raylin managed to get out. "But I wouldn't really call it spying. More like accidental observation." Edilio laughed as he dabbed antiseptic onto the last of her cuts and scrapes, and she gently set her leg down. "Anyway, what about you?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Me?" Edilio got up and walked to the sink, turning the taps on and running his hands under the water to get rid of the blood on his fingertips. "Assuming you know quite a bit...I'm Sam Temple's second in command." He turned around to face her, drying his hands on a dishcloth. "Sheriff of Perdido Beach, and I'm in charge of weapons training."

"Busy guy," said Raylin. "Are you gonna bust my ass for breaking and entering?" She couldn't be sure now that he was out of the light of the candles, but she could've sworn he was grinning.

"Nah, I think I'll let you off with just a caution." For the first time in what felt like forever, Raylin laughed. She forgot, just for a second, where she was and why. "Thanks, Edilio," she said when they had lapsed into silence again. "For helping me out." Edilio shrugged, moving forwards to stand just on the edge of the candlelight.

"No problem," he said simply. "You can keep the water." More silence. Then,

"Well, I think I'd better go..." Raylin stood up and pushed her chair in, reaching for her hoodie.

"What? Now?" Edilio stared at her, as if she'd said something shocking. "But it's dark out there, it's dangerous...what about the Human Crew?" Raylin pulled her hoodie on and slung her bag over one shoulder, and then stopped. She took in his look of concern, and her heart dropped slightly in her chest. She didn't like seeing him so worried, instead of smiling. But what confused her most was that he looked honestly worried. About _her_. It didn't make sense. Nobody had cared about her since she was ten years old.

"I'll be fine," she said, realising she was staring. "I'm a Normal, they won't bother me. Besides, I left my stick-spear-thing outside your window, and they'd have to catch me first. Any excuse to punch Zil Sperry in his power-hungry face is fine with me."

Edilio couldn't help it. The corners of his mouth turned upwards, and he rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Lara Croft is standing in my kitchen. You're one badass burglar, Ray." Raylin smiled. No one had ever called her that. _Rayray_, maybe, but not in a long, long time. But she liked it. And then Edilio's expression turned a little more serious. "Please, stay? I mean, there's a spare room, and the shower still works, even if it's not hot water." She stared at him, and he wondered if he'd said the wrong thing. "It's better than trying to find your way in the dark," he hastened to add. "And, well...it must get kinda lonely sometimes, being on your own. At least stay until you're better?"

As she turned the offer over in her head, it occurred to Raylin that she'd barely eaten all day. That, and she ached all over, and was suddenly fighting the urge to close her eyes and sleep. A day or two wouldn't hurt, surely? What she did next was completely out of character, and went against all the rules she had enforced upon herself over the last four years. But, she figured she'd already broken the one about trusting people, and the one about accepting help. Might as well break a few more. "Sure," Raylin answered. "That'd be nice. Thanks." Her smile widened slightly and Edilio, visibly relieved, relaxed and smiled back. "I could definitely use a shower, even a cold one. I feel gross."

"The bathroom's upstairs, first door on the right. Uh..." For a moment, Edilio seemed to hesitate, and looked at her backpack. "Don't suppose you've got a clean change of clothes?" he asked. Raylin looked at her bag too, as if it would tell her the answer she already knew.

"Um...no..." she replied, and then realised how dumb it sounded. "I mean, I did, but they all kind got damaged and I couldn't wear them anymore, so I ditched them." She shrugged. "Less weight to carry."

"Makes sense," Edilio agreed, nodding. "I can lend you some stuff anyway," he said. "I'll, um...leave it on the banister."

"Thanks..." They stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds, before Raylin smiled and headed out of the room.

It wasn't until he heard her footsteps on the stairs that Edilio sat down heavily in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair, and then covered his face with his hands. What the Hell was wrong with him? He'd only just met this girl, barely knew her – so why had he tried so hard to convince her to stay? Yeah, it was dangerous out there at night, but he didn't doubt that Raylin was capable of looking after herself. Why did he want to help her so badly? Edilio sighed, and started to clear away the cotton wool and antiseptic; he guessed Dahra had been right. He _had _needed that stuff. _It must be the lack of sleep. Yeah, that's it. Tiredness is scrambling my brain. _He sighed again as he put his gloves back on.

He heard running water, and wearily made his way up the stairs, leaving the candles going. He used the opportunity to collect his gun from where he'd left it in the living room when he'd come in, and to put it in the top drawer of his bedside table. Edilio looked around in his other drawers, unsure of what to give her to wear. Eventually he settled on one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants, and left them over the banister as promised. Then he returned to the kitchen to find some 'dinner' and wait for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Raylin studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She'd cleared a small space from steam and was pleased to see she looked a lot better. She felt better, too. Refreshed. Not that it mattered, seeing as she was crazy. She must have hit her head pretty hard when she fell. It was the only explanation Raylin could come up with for trusting someone she didn't know, and letting him help her. She didn't need anyone. Wasn't that what she'd been telling herself these past four years? That she didn't need help? That she was better off alone? So why was she standing in the bathroom of a guy she'd literally just met, wearing his slightly too-large clothes and planning on staying with him for the next two days or so? Silently, she thanked God or whatever it was out there that she'd had clean changes of underwear with her. Raylin shook her head. She was losing it. She really was this time. But she walked out of the room anyway, and went downstairs to find her new...friend?

Edilio was sitting at the kitchen table with a plate in front of him, pushing a bit of cabbage around it with a fork. There was an empty bag on the kitchen counter, and Raylin recognised it as one of the ones from inside the cupboard. She stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure what to do. She would have folded her arms loosely or something, just for something to do, but her bad arm was still hurting too much. She was having to carry her bag on the opposite shoulder as it was.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye, and looked up. "Hey."

"Hey." They smiled weakly at each other, before Raylin's eyes drifted back to the cabbage. Edilio saw her looking and raised an eyebrow at his plate.

"It's not much, but it's food, right?" He ate the last of his rations, trying not to make a face, as Raylin walked around him and sat down in her chair. Her backpack settled on the floor with a muffled thud, and he couldn't help but wonder what she kept in there that would make it so heavy. Raylin thought for maybe a second, and then pulled her bag onto her lap and unzipped one of the pockets.

"I've got something that might cheer you up?" she offered, and withdrew the jar of fruit-like things. She set it down on the table and dumped her bag on the floor again before pushing it towards Edilio. "Have some," Raylin encouraged.

"What are they?" asked Edilio hesitantly, picking up the jar and studied its contents curiously. Raylin shrugged and leant forward slightly in her seat.

"Some of them are definitely fruit, the rest I'm not sure about. But they're not poisonous, and they taste nice. Especially the purple strawberry-looking things." Edilio liked to think he wasn't stupid. He knew that the weird fruity things could just as well be toxic, and Raylin could be intending to make him ill. But something about her – whether it was how her tough exterior had gradually faded before his eyes, or how he somehow knew she was a good person despite the stuff she'd obviously been through – told him that he could trust her.

So he unscrewed the lid of the jar and took out something that resembled a purple strawberry, popping it in his mouth before he could change his mind. It _did _taste nice. Edilio made a noise of appreciation and looked at her in awe. "Where did you _find _these?" he asked. Another rule Raylin had made for herself since the FAYZ: Don't tell anyone where you get your food, because then there's less for yourself. It was every girl and boy for themselves as far as she was concerned. But Edilio wasn't like that. She wasn't sure how she knew it, or why, but she did. The more she thought about it, the more she believed it. She only had to think back to all the things she'd seen him do, to how he'd stood up against the Human Crew. He'd done it even though they were armed and outnumbered him.

"They're some kind of mutation," Raylin explained. "But there's bushes of them by the border of the National Park." Edilio passed her the jar back and raised his eyebrows.

"You really have been living rough, haven't you?"

"It sucks, but it's easier on my own," she answered as she ate a few more pieces of fruit herself, then put the jar away. She didn't want to go any further into it. Edilio nodded, knowing Raylin was leaving something out. But he didn't try to wheedle it out of her. Her past wasn't any of his business.

Instead he glanced at the clock on the wall. Eleven thirty. "Well, I think it's time I turn in," he said. "It's late." Raylin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too." They stood up and Raylin pulled the elastic band out of her hair. She'd towel-dried it as best she could, but it was still a little damp. Not that she really cared, because all of a sudden she was so tired she could barely see straight. She shouldered her bag, and Edilio blew the candles out. They had to blink a couple times to let their eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. Then Raylin followed Edilio up the stairs, hiding a yawn. The spare room was the first door on the left, next to his own one.

"I don't think anyone's slept in there for a while, even before the FAYZ," said Edilio as they paused outside the door. "But I kept it clean just in case. People are having to do a lot of moving about lately. I'm gonna have a quick shower, wash the blood off and stuff. Then I'll be turning in."

"Let me guess...the Human Crew are stirring things up?"

"Yeah. Things are getting bad." Raylin nodded. People were scared. It was inevitable. She was about to say goodnight when Edilio spoke again, and his tone was one she hadn't heard him use before. "Listen, Ray..." He paused. He wasn't quite sure what he should say. "Zil and the Human Crew, they hate me. They'd love to either get me out of the way or 'put me in my place'. I just...thought you should know that. If you're gonna be here a couple days." Raylin cocked her head to one side slightly. She wasn't an idiot.

"You think that me staying with you might make me a target too?" she asked. All he did was nod slowly.

For a moment, Raylin said nothing. And then she smiled, and took her bag off her shoulder. "Don't worry about me, Edilio. They'll regret it if they mess with me, trust me. I haven't been living in the wild the last few months for no reason." Edilio laughed, and she was relieved to see him smile again.

"I don't doubt it," he said. "'Night, Ray."

"'Night Edilio – and...thanks again. For everything." Edilio shrugged, knowing she was still smiling even though it was hard to make out her expression in the darkness of the corridor.

"Anytime."

And then Raylin went into the spare room, and shut the door softly behind her.

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**Hmm...so, what do you think? :] _Please _review and let me know! It only takes a second and really, really helps :] xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay in updating! Things have been crazy lately and I just couldn't get any inspiration :( But here's Chapter 7, hope you enjoy!**

**Btw, I should probably point out that I haven't read Lies yet. And, some of the characters probably seem a little OOC, but this is how I view them and how they are in my mind :]**

**Hope you like this chap, and don't forget to review and let me know what you think :]**

**Em xx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gone, but I do own Raylin ;]**

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Despite the muddle of half-formed thoughts that was her mind, Raylin was out the second her head hit the pillow. Edilio was in and out of the shower within ten minutes. He would have been in bed in another five, but he couldn't help but stand in front of the mirror when he was dressed and study his reflection. The scar on his shoulder seemed to stand out even more, and it didn't help that the rest of his chest was now covered in thin claw-mark scars. They didn't stand out too badly, being just a few shades lighter than his skin tone. But they were visible, and it bothered him. It made him feel ugly, somehow. Damaged.

He knew a lot of people thought he was brave and that some of the younger kids even looked up to him, but they weren't the one who was going to have to live with the nightmares, with the physical reminders of things that had happened and things that they'd done. His hands were rougher than they used to be and peppered with smaller scars from digging graves by hand when the backhoe wasn't working.

But when he slept that night his dreams of claws and teeth and bullets were short, and were soon replaced by a more peaceful type of slumber.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Raylin woke her room was bright with sunlight, and she felt more rested than she had in months. It took her a second to work out where she was, but then the events of the previous day came flooding back to her, and she sat up reluctantly. No matter how much she wanted to lie in, the idea felt weird seeing as she wasn't in her own house. So Raylin rubbed her eyes and forced herself to wake up, and got blearily to her feet.

She retrieved her toothbrush and toothpaste from the bottom of her bag and shuffled to the bathroom; she may have been living it rough, but she'd be damned if she gave up on personal hygiene. On her way to put the toothbrush and paste back in her bag, she peered into Edilio's room and found the bed empty. He was already up, and judging from the amount of sunlight and clear blue sky, it wasn't exactly early in the morning. Raylin was in the middle of dragging a brush through her hair when she realised that she could hear voices from downstairs. She set the brush down and crept to the top of the stairs, and instantly deciphered the voices as both male and female. The boy's voice she recognised as belonging to Edilio, but she'd never heard the girl before. And from what she could make out, they were arguing about something. Raylin didn't know what else to do but tiptoe down the stairs, and find out what was going on. She stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"What do you mean, 'it's not a big deal'?"

"It's _not_, really – " Edilio tried to explain, but the girl cut across him.

"It damn well is!" There was a pause, and then she let out a breath. When she spoke again she no longer sounded angry. Instead, she sounded worried. "You could have been killed," the girl murmured. Someone sighed. Edilio, Raylin presumed.

"I know," he admitted. "As if there wasn't enough already for me to have nightmares about. Although I think it's getting better."

"I hope so. I just wish mine would stop." Another sigh, belonging to the girl. "You don't deserve this, Edilio," she said after a few moments of silence. Her tone was sympathetic, and she sounded upset. "It's not fair. Look at what they did to you...even after what _she _did..."

"I know...I know."

Now that the conversation seemed to have calmed down, Raylin decided to take the chance to appear. She edged into the doorway to the kitchen as quietly as possible.

Edilio was standing by the chair he'd sat in the night before. His back was to her, and he was wearing just a pair of jeans slung low on his hips that revealed the top of his boxers. His short hair was ruffled from how he'd slept, and he held a dark blue t-shirt in his right hand. But it was the girl who caught her attention. She was quite pretty in her own way, African American and with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, although some tendrils had come loose at the front. Standing up, Raylin came up to Edilio's shoulders, but the girl was just a little taller. She was dressed in simple jeans, t-shirt and sneakers, and was standing in front of Edilio. Her face was set in a concerned frown, and one of her hands was tracing something on his chest. She was holding Edilio's torn shirt from yesterday in her left hand. _Ah, shit_. A girlfriend. She should have known.

Raylin was about to turn and disappear upstairs again, but a split second later she was noticed. The girl's eyes flickered to her, and a moment later Edilio half- turned to face her. He smiled, and was glad to find that he didn't have to force it. "Hey, Ray."

"Hey..." He pulled on the shirt he had in his hand before Raylin could see what it was the girl had been looking at. The girl herself was smiling, with her head cocked to one side.

"Dekka, this is Raylin Cooper, burglar extraordinaire," Edilio explained with a grin and a wink that made Raylin smile. "Ray, this is Dekka, best friend and bully." Dekka rolled her eyes and hit him playfully on the arm.

"Shut up, I do _not _bully you!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You're just lucky I'm not your Mom, or I would've grounded your ass so bad for yesterday. Next time, I'm coming with you." Edilio was making talking gestures with his hands and rolling his eyes. Dekka hit him again and he stopped, grinning cheekily. "Just throw the damned shirt out," she said, holding it out.

"Fine, fine..." He took it and dropped it in the bin in the corner of the room.

"Hi, Raylin," Dekka said.

"Hi," Raylin replied, and gave a small smile. So...Dekka wasn't Edilio's girlfriend?

"You were right Edilio," continued Dekka, still smiling at Raylin. "She _is _pretty. Eyes like that'll do you a lot of favours, girl, especially with the Perdido Beach guys." Raylin simply stared at her, confused.

"Oh, um...thanks," she mumbled, and searched for a compliment to give back. "You've got the nicest figure though," Raylin said honestly. "Guys like a girl with curves, right?" Dekka only laughed, and Edilio smiled knowingly.

"Some of them do," Dekka said.

"They like that tough facade you have," Edilio put in. "When are you going to tell those two twelve year olds they're wasting their time?" Dekka laughed again and went to sit at the table.

"What Rick and Barry don't know won't hurt them."

Edilio took one look at Raylin's confused face and realised she didn't have a clue what they were talking about. "It's a private joke," he explained. "Dekka's a lesbian."

"Oh." _Definitely_ not his girlfriend. Raylin shifted awkwardly from foot to foot for a moment, before deciding to go sit at the table, too.

"Listen, I've got to get over to Computer Jack's," said Edilio. "I won't be gone long. Ray, Dekka has my week's worth of rations, help yourself."

"Just don't mention yesterday's close shave," warned Dekka, getting up to pour herself a glass of water. "It'll unsettle him and Brianna says he hasn't been sleeping as it is. Keeps seeing Drake in his dreams." Edilio paused on his way out of the kitchen door. He nodded once, his whole body suddenly tense, and then left. Dekka sighed heavily when they heard the front door close. "I shouldn't have said that," she murmured, sinking back down into her chair and sipping her water.

"How come?" asked Raylin curiously. For a moment, Dekka only looked at her. It felt to Raylin as if she was being studied; as if Dekka was measuring her trustworthiness. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of awkward, suffocating silence, Dekka spoke.

"Edilio didn't tell you about the last encounter we had with Drake, Caine and Diana?" Raylin shook her head. She knew what she knew about the attack on the power plant from her 'observations'. But what happened afterwards was unknown to her. Dekka sighed again, leaning forwards in her seat and resting her elbows on the table.

"Caine, Drake, Diana – you know who they are, right?" Raylin nodded. "They attacked the power plant. Turned the power to the town off. For whatever reason, we can't turn it back on – I'm not sure why, that's a question for Edilio or Sam himself. Anyway, there was this...battle. I was there. Edilio and his soldiers were there. Sam showed up and we were trying to take the place back. It was so horrible. Two of our kids were killed by Drake – Mickey and Brittney. Lots of people were hurt, including Sam. Especially Sam. Drake cut him up so bad, I'm surprised he even lived, let alone...but then Orc showed up and we managed to take the plant back. Edilio and I...we were out in the desert, looking for Lana, at the time the battle at the plant was finished. We found her, but...things...happened. And then Drake was there, and Caine, and Diana, and Sam, and...long story short, Edilio was shot. I don't know if it was the actual almost dying part – because we almost lost him – or if it's because of _who _it was that shot him, but he hasn't been the same since. Sometimes he'll be smiling and laughing, but more often than not he's stressed, and I know he's been having really bad nightmares..."

Dekka seemed to deflate a little once her explanation was over, as if simply explaining the whole ordeal to a stranger had lifted a huge burden from her shoulders. She slumped back in her chair, lifting her glass to her lips for another sip, and was silent. Raylin, meanwhile, was stunned into a different kind of silence. She had _not _been expecting that. Not at all.

So Edilio had skeletons in his closet too? But he'd seemed so happy, so cheerful...why was he hiding all this away? Why was he bottling it all up? Why hadn't he _told _her? Raylin almost slapped herself, then. What a stupid thing to think – she'd known Edilio for less than 24 hours, why would he tell _her _anything about his past? If he was only confiding his problems in Dekka, then obviously he didn't _want _anyone else to know. Raylin sighed quietly, eyes downcast. She was losing it. She really was. "I didn't think..." she began, and stopped, swallowing. She tried again. "I wouldn't have thought..." _I wouldn't have thought he had scars, too. _But Raylin couldn't get it out. And even inside her head, it sounded a little ignorant. Third time lucky. "He seemed so cheerful," she murmured, and when she looked up she was surprised to find Dekka watching her intently. "He helped me, took care of my arm and my legs...he offered me a place to stay until I was better...it's like you just..." Raylin rubbed her forehead with her fingertips, searching for the right words.

"Like I just described a completely different guy," Dekka finished for her. "Don't let his secrets fool you, Raylin. Edilio's the kindest, most generous, and bravest guy I know. But he has his issues, like the rest of us. He's just tired of all the fighting." Dekka sighed deeply and got up to put her empty glass in the sink. "Aren't we all." A ghost of a small, sad smile, made the corner of Raylin's mouth turn upwards. Now they were on neutral territory. At least this was a topic they both knew about.

"That's why I want to get out of town again as soon as possible," she mumbled. "I don't wanna be stuck here when the shit hits the fan."

"You mean with the Human Crew?" asked Dekka, turning to face Raylin. She folded her arms lightly across her chest, leaning against the work surface. "They won't bother you," she said. "You're one of the lucky ones. You're a Normal, like Edilio. Me, I make gravity disappear in my spare time. Zil won't touch you as long as you don't associate yourself with Freaks like me." That hadn't been what she was talking about, but Raylin was intrigued.

"You mean the way Edilio does?"

"I told him it was a bad idea," Dekka murmured. "But he wouldn't listen. And now it's too late. But no, if worst comes to worst and you stay here longer than planned, they'll leave you alone." Raylin mulled that over in her head for a few moments. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"That's good to know. Not what I was talking about, but good to know."

"Oh." Dekka straightened up and gave her a weak smile, realising her mistake. "What were you talking about?"

"I don't want to be here for the battle," Raylin explained, stifling a yawn. "If I'm still here then there'll be no way I can get out of town until it's over, and it may not end well."

"Well, you shouldn't still be worrying about that," said Dekka, and her smile widened a fraction. She smoothed out the creases in her shirt and re-folded her arms. "The battle's over. Caine and Diana have retreated back to Coates like frightened puppies, the Gaiaphage is gone and Drake's dead. The only thing we have to fear now is this town tearing itself apart from the inside."

Raylin smiled, shaking her head at Dekka's second misunderstanding. "No, not that fight," she said. "I know that one's over. I'm talking about the one that's coming. Caine's spending hours locked away with Diana and that other girl, planning everything. I've seen a lot of things since I started living it rough." For a minute she said nothing, only twirled a lock of her hair around her finger absent-mindedly, thinking. Then, "How's Sam going to prepare?" More worriedly, as an afterthought, "Edilio's not going to be fighting, is he?" Raylin didn't get an answer.

She looked up at Dekka to see why she hadn't replied, and what she saw only confused her more. Dekka was standing frozen in place, arms still folded, staring at her with a look that was somewhere between wide-eyed horror and surprise. "Caine?" Dekka stuttered. "Caine's...Caine's going to attack again?" Ten seconds of silence passed before the truth dawned on Raylin, and as realisation hit her she visibly paled.

"You didn't know, did you?"

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**What did you think? :D Review & let me know, otherwise I won't know if you like how it's going :]! xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Firstly, sorry for the wait! I've been so busy, and I know I say that a lot but it's true :L Still, I've managed to get this chapter written, and I hope you like it :P The next chapter should be up soon! Sorry for any mistakes, it's incredibly late so chances are that I might have missed some because I'm tired :L Anyways, things move a little further forward in this chapter :] Next chapter should be a little more interesting ;D. At the minute I'm currently reading Lies (for the first time :]) and I'm thinking of maybe incorporating some of the happenings from that into this story. Of course things will probably happen differently and sometimes out of sync with the book, but it's still just a maybe.**

**Let me know what you think of the idea in a review! Hope you enjoy this chap :]**

**Em xx **

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns Gone, I own Raylin Cooper ;]**

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"I'll round up my boys, get them go round town, have a look around. Whatever you need, Jack, we'll find." Edilio was standing in Computer Jack's small kitchen again, watching the younger boy busy himself with lists of everything he would need to carry out Edilio's plan. He sat at the kitchen table, the surface of which was covered in papers and diagrams and long, long lists that he had drawn up since the previous morning. Edilio watched Computer Jack's brow furrow in thought as he looked over one of his carefully drawn diagrams and couldn't help but feel a little proud of the kid.

"That sounds good, Edilio," agreed Computer Jack. "But even if we can get everything I'm going to need, we still have to get our hands on a source of electricity to power the whole thing. I went up to the power plant after the meeting yesterday – it's no use. I just can't get the wretched thing to work again." Computer Jack ran a hand through his hair, frustrated; Edilio didn't blame him. Computer Jack wasn't used to not being able to fix something technological.

"It's alright, man," Edilio assured him. "We'll figure something out." He wasn't sure if he even believed that himself, but it seemed to do the trick.

Computer Jack visibly relaxed, and, with a quiet sigh, began to gather all his papers up into a neat stack. "Here's the main list," he said, holding one sheet of paper in particular out to his friend. Edilio took it, quickly scanned the items listed, and then folded it to put it in his jeans pocket.

"Okay, Jack. I'll get the guys on it."

"You're sure they won't say anything?"

"I'm sure. As bad as it sounds, they're not all that loyal to Sam. They're loyal to me."

"Fair enough." Computer Jack stood and made to put the stack of papers on the table, but he hesitated. "We're going to have to burn all this, aren't we?" he murmured slowly, and he knew that it was true as soon as he'd spoken the words. "The evidence, I mean. We're going to have to burn it all."

When he looked up Edilio gave a small nod, wearing the expression of a man wishing he didn't have to accept something that he knew to be true. "We can't afford for anyone to find out," he explained. "Not Zil, not his H.C thugs, not Sam, Astrid, Caine or anyone else that isn't already involved. This is war now, Jack. We don't have a choice." Computer Jack gave a single nod of understanding, and set the papers down.

"I have a loose floorboard in my bedroom. I'll hide them there. As soon as the job's done I'll burn everything."

"I appreciate it, Jack, I – " Edilio was about to thank Computer Jack again for everything he was doing, but he chose that moment to glance out of the window, and what he saw made the words die in his throat.

Dekka was sprinting down the street, carrying what looked like a bundle of clothes. She practically threw herself through his front door as he watched, and in less than a second a single name flew through his mind. _Raylin_. "I have to go," Edilio said abruptly, and headed for the door at a speedy jog. "Speak later, and thanks!" And the next thing Computer Jack knew Edilio closed the door with a quiet thud on his way out.

Edilio darted across the road and through his open front door, countless questions and problems and scenarios flooding his mind. Had something happened to Ray? Was she going to run? Why did he even care? But instead of any dramatic arguments or secretive escape attempts, all Edilio stumbled upon was Dekka pacing backwards and forwards across his kitchen. He didn't know if he should be relieved, or just more worried. "Dekka? Dekka, what's wrong?" Dekka spun round at the sound of his voice, and stopped pacing to dash up to him and grab his arm.  
"We need to get to Sam, Edilio!" she explained. "Get the car started, we need to see him!"

"Wait, wait, hold up – why do we need to go see Sam? What's happened?"

"It's Raylin, she told me she's heard Caine and Diana planning to attack again, we have to tell Sam!" Dekka let go of his arm and instead started tugging on his hand, trying to pull him towards the front door. "Come on, I gave her some stuff to wear, now let's get going!" Edilio sighed, and pulled her back towards him.

"Dekka, breathe," he said. Dekka did as she was told: she took a deep, calming breath in, and then slowly let it out. "Now, what's this Raylin's told you? Caine and Diana are going to attack?"

A frown passed over Edilio's face, and he knew it wouldn't be the last time. Sam was still close to his wit's end, despite being a lot better lately. Having the Council around to help took a lot of the pressure off his shoulders, but Edilio knew better. The Council were only going to make it harder for Sam to keep control of Perdido Beach. Astrid had already started corrected him on who exactly was in charge of the town now – the Temporary Council, not just Sam alone – and it would only be a matter of time before the Council disagreed with what Sam knew to be the right decision. The way Edilio saw it, he had to be clear of what the problem was before taking it to Sam.

"Raylin's been all over the place since the FAYZ started, right?" Dekka began. "So she's heard a lot of what's happening down here in town _and _up at Coates. She said the kids up there are completely out of food. They're starving. They're on the verge of...doing terrible things." For a split second Dekka's expression changed to one of horrified disgust, and then back to calm panic. "Caine and Diana need to get the Coates' kids some food, Edilio," she continued. "And they think the only way to do it is to get some from us. They're going to create some kind of diversion, she says, and attack the town. Get in, grab some food, and get out."

It took a moment or two longer than normal for Edilio to process this; his mind was instantly crowded with the horrific things he'd seen and heard and done the last two times Caine and Diana and Drake had attacked Perdido Beach. He'd fired his gun with the intent to kill. He'd seen kids killing each other right in front of him. He'd seen kids, Littles, mauled by Coyotes and he'd been the one who'd buried those kids in the Plaza, often next to older or younger siblings and friends. Edilio had had to bury friends. Sometimes his soldiers. Each life was another mental scar that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Okay," he finally murmured, and his voice was weak. Dekka was concerned, but new better than to waste time. She climbed obediently into the back seat of the truck, not bothering with the seatbelt, and waited for Edilio to join her. To her surprise he turned away from the truck and went inside, disappearing into the depths of the house before she could ask him what he was doing. Raylin was just coming down the stairs as he appeared in the doorway.

She was wearing a pair of ratty but clean skinny jeans – they were a little loose, but few people had clothes that weren't these days – and a t-shirt, plain, black, kinda baggy. Simple, nothing particularly special; and still she looked so much better than she had the previous night. Raylin looked cleaner, refreshed, better in general, but there was trouble in her eyes, and Edilio didn't miss it.

"Edilio? What are you doing back?" Raylin asked when she saw him, frowning slightly in confusion. "I thought you were at...that 'Computer Jack' guy's place?" He shrugged, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. He'd explain later.

"Doesn't matter right now. Dekka said you...you know..." Edilio faltered. It suddenly seemed as if voicing his question would make it real. He was tired of fighting. Tired of wounds and bullets. Facing Drake and Caine and Diana – that was all supposed to be a thing of the past. Drake was dead. Caine defeated. It should be over. Right?

Wrong.

Raylin seemed to study him, as if she had lost all the trust he thought – _hoped _– she had in him. Then she sighed, and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. "It's true, Edilio. I wouldn't lie to you. In recent...supply trips...that have taken me to or near Coates, I've...accidentally heard things." She lifted her head and gave him a look that could only be described as anxious. "The kids at Coates are starving. Caine and Diana think that taking food from Perdido Beach is the only way to stop the kids from dying. I won't lie – Caine is far from changed. He's still the messed up guy who tried to kill his own brother. But he's human...kind of. And he's getting desperate."

He'd known her less than a day. How was he supposed to know she was telling the truth?

Instinct.

"Then...we need to tell Sam," Edilio replied, slowly. Choosing his words carefully. Being stuck in Perdido Beach wasn't something Raylin wanted. He was sure of that at least. He wondered if she would correct him on his use of 'we', but she didn't. All Raylin did was nod, seeming subdued. Before Edilio could dither over whether or not he should ask if she was coming, Raylin sighed again and walked straight past him, out of the front door.

By the time Edilio had managed to find his keys and lock the front door, she and Dekka were already waiting patiently for him in the truck. In a strangely calm silence they sat still and unspeaking as Edilio reversed the truck out of the driveway and they started off in the direction of Sam and Astrid's house.

It was a few moments before Dekka broke the silence, and spoke in a voice that was quieter than normal. "Taylor was home," she said. "She's bouncing and getting the rest of the Council together at Sam and Astrid's." Edilio nodded, but said nothing. It had been good thinking on Dekka's part – but, ultimately, the involvement of the Council was bound to only cause trouble. Edilio highly doubted that Astrid would be keen on believing what Raylin said, being a complete stranger in their eyes. And, Edilio guessed, in his eyes too. Her still trusted her, but the rest of the Council? That was another matter entirely.

As they drove Raylin gazed out of the window, sometimes seeing, other times too wrapped up in her own, troubled thoughts to notice the hungry and often ragged-looking children who stared confusedly at her as the truck went past. When she was paying attention, she registered that there were no other cars in Perdido Beach. Fuel conservation, she guessed. It made sense that only the people who really needed to be able to get around town easily – the V.I.P's, Sam's closest followers, the 'Temporary Council' or whatever Dekka had called them – would be allowed fuel for their cars.

When she wasn't paying attention, Raylin was far away. She was back at the start of the FAYZ, in her nice, warm, clean clothes, in the nice, warm, clean backseat of her foster Dad's Volvo, with a thick blanket pulled up high over her head and wrapped tightly round her against the cold and the sounds of the storm outside. She wasn't even sure how it could rain in the FAYZ, but the word _impossible _held very little meaning, if any, these days, and on occasion the veil of clouds that obscured the top of the FAYZ barrier from the people inside would turn dark and grey, and throw down more rain than anyone would have thought possible.

She was back in the time when she felt free, even if it had only lasted for a little while. Her useless foster parents were gone; no annoying fake family, no need to remember the one that she'd lost, a chance to start again, be who she wanted to, and to have some peace and quiet for a change. Of course, once the Volvo had run out of fuel and she'd had to get used to actually camping out in the middle of nowhere, things had gotten a little harder. And then, when she'd lost or broken all of her arrows things had gotten just a tad worse. The bow was dumped, the empty quiver used to carry spare clothes for a time when there was no room in her bag, until there were no spare clothes left and less food and she could fit everything into the bag. The quiver was left in the dust. Gradually, bit by bit, her comfort in her 'freedom' had dwindled, her independence and mistrust of others grown, and she had come to lead the life that she led now.

Raylin Cooper. Fearless wandering wild girl of the FAYZ. But now, she had done the one thing that she'd always told herself she would never do. Gotten attached. Gotten stuck. She'd befriended Edilio and Dekka without really realising, and now she was facing the consequences of caring about another human being. She was stuck in Perdido Beach, because she didn't want them to get hurt. Because they had made her realise that she didn't want any others to get hurt, either. Raylin told herself it didn't matter. She'd dug herself a hole, but she'd get herself out again.

She'd tell Sam Temple and his Temporary Council the truth, and then, before she could be trapped, Raylin would do what she did best.

She would disappear.

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**Sorry for the little cliffy there :L Next chapter coming soon! :] Don't forget to leave a review, they always make my day! :D xx**


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